Canelo to face Scull in 168-pound unification fight May 3
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Canelo Álvarez's first Riyadh Season fight will be for all the marbles.
Álvarez - the reigning WBO, WBA, and WBC super middleweight champion - will fight IBF titleholder William Scull in a 168-pound unification title fight May 3 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh announced Saturday.
The bout will be contested on the morning of May 4, Saudi Arabia time, to allow for a prime-time broadcast in the United States, according to ESPN's Mike Coppinger. It will mark Álvarez's first fight outside North America.
This will be Álvarez's first fight of a four-fight deal he signed with Riyadh Season this week. Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, shockingly convinced the 34-year-old to reverse course Thursday and take his contract instead of a deal to fight YouTuber turned boxer Jake Paul.
Álvarez briefly responded on YouTube to Paul's social media posts blasting him for apparently backing out of a deal.
If Álvarez defeats Scull, he'll regain the title of undisputed super middleweight champion, which he first gained in 2021. Álvarez successfully defended his undisputed titles four times but was stripped of the IBF belt last July after he took a fight against Edgar Berlanga instead of facing Scull, the IBF's mandatory challenger.
A victory for Álvarez would set up a blockbuster super middleweight title fight against Terence Crawford on Sept. 13. Álvarez has already agreed to face "Bud" at 168 pounds in the second fight of his contract.
Scull, meanwhile, will be looking to shock the world and claim the undisputed super middleweight title. The 32-year-old, who hails from Cuba but now fights out of Berlin, enters this fight with a lifetime 23-0 record. Only nine of those victories have come via knockout.
"El Indomable" claimed the then vacant IBF 168-pound belt with a unanimous decision victory over Vladimir Shishkin in Falkensee, Germany, on Oct. 19. The Álvarez bout will mark his first defense of the title.
Álvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) has won 11 straight fights at super middleweight. His only loss since 2013, to Dmitry Bivol in 2022, was at 175 pounds. The Mexican icon has won titles at four different weight classes during his decorated career.